The Tempest
by thepsykoshipper
Summary: TMNT 2K12 Universe. When April has a terrifying vision, Master Splinter is put on edge. Raphril with conflicting Capril and Apritello
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I've been wanting to write a Ninja Turtles fanfic for sometime now so here we go! Just a heads up, this is the first time I've written a fic without my usual OC, so bear with me here!**

 **Enjoy!**

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She groaned as she lifted her torso in the upright position. Every muscle in her body ached, and every hair on her head was tangled and defying gravity. She sighed, mustering up all her strength to fling her feet over the side of the bed, where she sat. She rubbed her cerulean eyes, hoping that it would help her to wake up, but to no avail. Her lung sucked in a deep, mournful breath of air, trying to get her blood flowing and her energy sparking. Her eyes danced to the cold floor, and her feet resisted touching the stone. It took a couple minutes of psyching herself up before she finally brushed a toe against the floor. She shivered. She placed the flat of her foot on the floor; the cold crept throughout her phalanges like pins and needles. But she had to do it, to stand up. She groaned once more as she pushed her weight onto her legs, which immediately began to shake.

Saying that April O'Neil was not a morning person was the understatement of the year.

She shuffled into the kitchen and fumbled around until she pulled a mug with a cat on it out of the cupboard and threw it under the coffee maker. She began to smile, the smell of coffee easing every aching muscle and cold foot. She shifted her weight to lean against the counter as she greedily eyed the dripping coffee, which couldn't possibly move any slower.

She sighed as she cupped her hands around the steaming cup and inhaled. Her stomach growled in reply as she gulped the bitter sweet beverage and she pulled out a pan, preparing to make eggs.

Then she heard it, the rolling of wheels.

"Awesome! April's making breakfast!"

"I'm first, I'm the hungriest!"

"No me! I'm April's favorite!"

She turned around and smiled in spite of herself at the sight of her best friends. Three of them lumbered around the corner and pushed for a stool at the counter, knocking over various table condiments.

"Morning guys," April yawned. "I guess I could make a few more eggs."

"Oh yeah!" said Michelangelo, the youngest brother, as he licked his lips. His wide blue eyes captured an innocence through his yellow mask that April had been in awe of ever since she met the brothers.

"Sensei work you guys hard this morning?" April mused, flipping the yolk with ease.

Raphael, the strongest, second oldest of the brothers, groaned. "I don't know what his problem was this morning. Every move we made was never good enough for his."

April shrugged. "You know Master Splinter, he always like to be precise."

"Well, I hate to admit it, but I agree with Raph," sighed Donatello, putting down the cell phone that he had been fiddling with. "Sensei seemed a little on edge."

The eggs started to fizzle as April quickly plated the breakfast and fed her ravenous friends. As they feasted, she noticed the absence of the older brother Leonardo, who would usually reprimand his brother for eating so sloppily.

"Guys, where's Leo?"

"Still with Sensei," said Mikey between bites.

Donatello stopped eating. "The hostility Sensei showed towards us this morning was nothing compared to what he made Leo do."

April figured that the fourth brother would be extra hungry so she tossed a couple more eggs in the pan. She leaned against the counter as she watched her friends finish their meal. A memory suddenly struck her, a memory of a time before she had met the brothers, a time when she would have simply passed off the idea of four mutant turtle teenagers as a myth or story. But this was the life she was living. Her bed was a cot and comforter in the sewer. Her friends were adolescent reptiles. Her sensei was a rat. Nothing could weird her out at this point.

The brothers dispersed after they finished as April began to pick at the newly plated scrambled eggs. She almost considered eating the whole plate when Leo walked in, gingerly sitting on the stool.

"Rough morning?" April asked, slidding the plate in front of the turtle.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, but not before throwing a thankful glance at April through the slits in his blue mask.

April's hopeful grin fell. "That bad?"

Leo sighed heavily, spearing his eggs with his fork. "I kept trying my hardest during training, but none of it seemed to matter to him today."

"Do you think that any of this angst have to do with my vision?"

About a week ago, April had awoke in the middle of the night screaming. The turtles rushed in to find her sitting upright in her bed, eyes open, but still sleeping. One she had awoken and was calmed down, she told Master Splinter about her vision.

"I was in the streets of New York, alone, and it was nighttime," she recalled. "I was running. Not from a man, or like any villain we've ever come across before. He wasn't ever a person, more like a presence. I couldn't physically see him, but I could feel him." She shivered. "My blood was cold and I was freezing despite all of my running. Suddenly, he grabbed me. Not actually, but it felt like he had a grip on my soul. Slowly, I felt him squeeze the life out of me."

At the time, Master Splinter had simply passed it off as nothing but a nightmare. But ever since, he hadn't been the same. He had restricted the boy's and her time above the sewer, and increased the amount of training time.

April picked up Leo's dishes. "Whatever happens, it's best to just go along with Sensei. I'm sure it will all pass soon."

Leo nodded and departed for his room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm so thankful for the awesome reviews, keep it up! I like to know what you think!**

The rest of the day seemed to pass ungodly slow, as it always had recently. Because of Splinter's restrictions, the turtles, April, and Casey could only go out for a few hours at a time during the night. This left for a lot of down time, and again and again Raphael found himself just sitting on the couch, groaning out of boredom. Even the once entertaining punching bag had lost its glamour after the one millionth punch several days ago. He envied Mikey's ability to ride a skateboard, a skill he had tried to pick up, but soon became frustrated with after immediate failure. Hell, right now, he even envied Donnie's unfaltering interest in his machines.

He groaned and lay his head against the back of the couch. He must be _really_ bored to envy Donnie.

Just as he started to consider ( _shiver_ ) reading a book, April walked in, looking just as good as she did the first time they crossed paths. Casey followed closely behind.

It was true, Raph had felt for April the first time they had met. He had struggle to maintain his composure when they first saw her walking down the street that New York city night long ago. He often wondered if his fondness could be attributed to the fact that he had never seen another girl before; to him, April was perfect.

But this feeling had to be brutally pushed aside as Donnie confessed his interest and then, a while after, Casey, his best friend, started to like her as well. Raphael didn't want to seem clingy so he ended up just trying to forget the whole ordeal and focus on his fighting. That was the secret behind his vicious passion. Raph had taught himself to control his emotions, or rather, the ones that would make him seem weak, and for him, love was one of them. Every punch that made contact with a Foot Soldier, the Kraag, or even the punching bag feel like one less pent up feeling, breaking its way out. His brothers just assumed he was angry because that was just who he was, to the point where Raph started to believe it about himself.

He sat up as April and Casey found a spot on the couch. He was so distracted by the fact that Casey had his arm around the back of the couch (over April) that he wasn't paying attention to what Casey was saying.

"Isn't that right, Raph?" Casey asked.

Raph was jolted into focus. "What? Oh...yeah."

Casey cocked an eyebrow. "You have no idea what I was saying."

"Most of the time I have no idea what you're saying," Raph countered. April giggled. Casey scoffed.

"Whatever man," he shrugged. "I'm just so bored. Splinter should've never pent up the uncontainable spirit of Casey Jones!"

"It's for our own protection," defended April. "I'm sure whatever Master Splinter's reasoning was for keeping us here is perfectly valid."

The three nodded in agreement, and were left with an uncomfortable silence. At least, Raph felt that it was uncomfortable. He had to avert his eyes as he saw Casey move closer to the redhead, as she picked up a magazine and started lazily flipping through it. Her perfect orange bangs flipped to the side slowly in a way that made Raph feel dizzy inside. Her blue eyes danced around the magazine, and her slim figure slumped against the back of the couch but looked perfect all the same. Yet there Casey was; he had her, yet he didn't even seem to appreciate it. Raph figured he had better remove himself from the situation before he said something he regretted.

"Guys!" screeched Mikey, racing into the room. Everyone jolted to attention.

"What is it, Mikey?" asked April, alarmed.

Mikey quickly sat in front of the TV. "We almost missed the newest episode of Crognard the Barbarian!"

Everyone groaned and sat back in their chairs as Mikey flipped on the TV to the poorly animated "adventure" show. Raph figured watching the garbage of a show was better than watching Casey put the moves on April, so he turned to the television and let his mind wander.

The episode was painfully simple. Crognard made some dumb mistake, his friends cleaned it up, yet Crognard got all the credit. Raphael scoffed, that was never how it worked in real life.

Suddenly, April cried out and curled into a ball. Raph, Mikey and Casey all ran to her side as she sat writhing in pain, with her hands on her temples.

"What's wrong, Red?" asked Casey.

April didn't unclench from the fetal position; she groaned as if someone was physically abusing her. It reminded Raph of about a week ago when they found her screaming in her bed from a nightmare. Well, Sensei had told them all that it was a nightmare. Right now, Raph was having second thoughts.

"April, are you okay?" asked Raph.

Suddenly, April stood up and let out a ear-piercing scream. Raph, Mikey, and Casey were thrown back by a wave of April's telekinesis. She continued standing, almost as if she was fine, except for the fact that her eyes were completely white and she seemed to be in a daze.

"April?" Mikey asked timidly.

April flashed a sly smile, "not quite."

Raph's jaw dropped. Instead of the smooth perky voice that one inhabited April, a brutal, raspy voice took its place. Leonardo, Donatello, and Master Splinter burst through the door into the room.

"We heard a scream," said Leo.

Donnie gasped. "What happened to April?"

Casey gulped. "Dude, that's not April."

Demon April smiled again. "Right you are Casey Jones. I am not your friend. But don't worry, no harm will come to her," Raph could've swore she looked straight at him, " _for now_."

Master Splinter took a step forward. "Who are you?"

The demon turned towards him. "I'm exactly who you feared I was, Hamato Yoshi. And I'm coming to take everyone that you care about away from you." Splinter's eyes widened. Raphael kept waiting for his sensei to do something, but instead, he just stood there, almost as if he was afraid. He couldn't really tell, mainly because he'd never seen Splinter afraid before.

"Leave April alone, you freak," shouted Casey. He stood up and Raphael followed, standing behind him for support.

Demon April scoffed. "You're lucky, Hamato Yoshi. The time is not yet right to ruin your pathetic life." Suddenly, April began to glow and she stood tall with her arms outstretched. "But don't worry, I'll be keeping a very close eye on you."

As quickly as it came, the spirit left April's body, and she collapsed to the ground. Both Donnie and Casey rushed to her side, so Raph thought it was best not to overwhelm her.

"What the heck was that?" he asked, storming towards Splinter.

The boys looked to the rat for an answer, but received nothing more than a frightened glance. He quickly retreated to his room, leaving everyone to draw their own conclusions.


	3. Chapter 3

When April had turned four, she got her first and only concussion. She had been at a baseball game with her father, and got hit in the head with a foul ball while her father was turned away buying peanuts. She had been unconscious for a few hours, and awoke in a hospital room with no recollection of what had happened and a splitting headache.

When April awoke with another brain-numbing headache, she immediately feared that she had another concussion. She propped herself up and looked around, shielding her fragile vision from the blinding light that seemed to come from everywhere.

"Donnie, she's awake!" said a voice April seemed to recognize, but figured she heard it wrong. There was no way _he_ would be standing vigil by her bedside. She turned to look in the direction of the voice but was struck with a bolt of pain through her head.

She lay back down and closed her eyes, drawing some comfort from the darkness. She felt a light hand on her left shoulder, someone she figured was either Casey or Donnie.

"April?" asked a voice she recognized as Donatello.

"Lights...too...bright.." she groaned. She heard someone scramble and the heat of the light was gone. Her eyes timidly opened and she saw Donnie smiling over her. She mustered a smile. "Thanks."

"I'm glad you're awake, we were getting worried," smiled Donnie, showing off his adorably adolescent tooth gap. "I'm going to run a few more tests before you can get up."

"What happened?" she asked. "Why does my head hurt?"

Donnie looked uneasy as he put two patches attached to wires on each side of her temple. "I'm honestly not sure. I wouldn't be the person to ask."

April nodded, crestfallen, but craving to close her eyes and return to the ease of darkness. But suddenly, she came to a realization. When she first opened her eyes, Donnie was on her right side, closer to his counter filled with his science-y stuff. Unless he awkwardly reached over her body, which she suspected he was too uncomfortable to do, Donnie was not the person who stroked her arm. She turned her head to the left, but saw nothing but an empty room. She assumed it was just Casey playing a prank, but part of her hoped it wasn't. There was sliver inside of her that hoped it was _him_ , the owner of the voice. There would be no way to know for sure, he would simply deny it if she asked. Unless…

 _You're crazy_ , April thought. _There's no way he shares feelings for you_.

Donnie finished his tests quickly and gave her some painkillers for her headache. The rest of the lair seemed to be vacant, so April figured now was a good time to get some questions answered. She walked to Master Splinter's room and carefully opened the door. Splinter was perched on her knees, eyes closed, obviously meditating. April considered coming back later, but her sensei's head turned to the side.

"It is alright, April," he said, eyes still closed. "I figured you would come here for answers."

April sheepishly sat across from the rat, feeling incredibly unprofessional in the presence of the best ninja warrior she had ever met. She copied his perched position, though it was incredibly uncomfortable. She took a deep relaxing breath. "What happened to me, Master Splinter?"

Splinter's eyes opened suddenly. "You were possessed by a very dangerous dark spirit. Your telepathic abilities made it easy to take over your body."

April grimaced at the thought of another person taking over her body. "Who was this spirit?"

"An man from my past," Splinter sighed. "His name was Kaito Yoshiro, and was a prominent leader of the Kaito or "Sea" clan. He was proud and stubborn, and we were acquaintances. His clan was prosperous, creating incredible sea-vessels that traveled around the world. We had an agreement that I would sail one of his boats to the buying port in return for free passage to the town."

"Sorry, Master Splinter," interrupted April. "But what does a boat have to do with an evil spirit?" Splinter shot her a sharp glance, and she patiently lowered her head.

"I was taking one of Kaito Yoshiro's boats to a small port, where I planned to meet up with my family. But while I voyaged, a terrible storm hit the boat, and the boat was lost and all of the crew died. I managed to survive by floating on a piece of driftwood. I wasn't able to let Yoshiro know about the boat; he did not know until the Buyers angrily stated how the boat never arrived at the Port. Yoshiro's business was not affected, but his pride was. He continued to send boats to the Ports, but each and everyone was destroyed by the same storm. Even boats that were sent to different docks were still affected by the tempest."

"He couldn't have blamed the storm on you?" April asked.

Splinter sighed. "I am afraid Yoshiro believed heavily in the supernatural and he was constantly paranoid. He believed, since I was the first to be in the storm, that I cursed his boats to always be destroyed. His prosperous business was slowly demolished as his boats continued to fall to the storm. Yoshiro himself died in the storm, but his spirit and vendetta were so strong, that his spirit remained, and the devastating storm follows wherever he goes."

April was stunned. "And this man wants revenge against you?"

"He thinks that I took away everything he had with that storm, so he vows to do the same to me," answered Splinter.

"We have to stop him!"

"No," he said, sharply. "You six are the first that he will go after. This business is between me and him."

"He dragged me into this by taking over my body," April explained. "I want to help!"

Splinter's silence cut through her confidence like a knife. She began to slump over her knees, eventually dropping her head and it was obvious that her sensei was not going to budge on the issue. It wasn't fair to Master Splinter, there was no possible way for him to have created the storm. But since the demon needed someone to blame besides himself, they would suffer.

"One more question, sensei," April said, almost whispering. "Of all the times to take revenge, why now?"

Splinter paused but said nothing. April tried to meet his gaze, but the rat kept deflecting it. "I do not know. Now if you would excuse me, I need to meditate."

Her sensei quickly returned to his somber state and April was taken back by the abruptness of it all. She was positive, after all her had told her already, that he knew why the Spirit was looking for revenge now. _He has to know_ , she thought. The stark contrast in tone, the averting gaze, the hesitation, they were all physical cues that pointed to lying.

But she suddenly felt ashamed, assuming the worst about Master Splinter. He had done so much for her, taking her in and giving her a new home while her dad was missing. She could only assume that there was good reason for his secrecy.

As she stepped out of Master Splinter's room, she saw Mikey in his usual spot in front of the television. Leonardo was lounging against the couch, reading some sort of magazine. As she went to take a seat on the couch, her eyes wandered, against her will, to the corner of the room, where Raphael punched viciously at the punching bag. Her eyes danced upon the tightening of his biceps every time he would land his fist into the sandbag. She pulled her eyes away, but her ears continued to selfishly listen to his grunts of passion as he torn into the innocent figure.

"How are you feeling, April?" asked Leo, as she took a spot next to him on the couch.

She sighed. "Well my brain feels like it's being hit repeatedly by a hammer, but I'll live."

"You were in Sensei's room for a long time," Leo stated, obviously begging for details. She smiled at the blue turtle's pleading tone. If she ever imagined having an older brother, Leo would be it. He radiated leadership, and he was willing to go to incredible lengths for his family. He pestered her and joked, but he always knew what needed to get done and how they would do it.

"When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything that had happened. I went to Splinter for answers," she admitted.

"I could've told you what happened!" input Mikey, excitedly. "You were like ' _I'm coming to take everything away from you_ ' and ' _I'm keeping a close eye on you_ '." He stood up and began to march around the layer, spewing babble, and acting like a zombie. "I'm an April-zombie, blarrrhhh!" She thought she heard Raph scoff.

April was taken aback. "I really said those things?"

Leo nodded. "It was pretty freaky."

"I'm sorry," April shuddered and tucked her knees into her chest.

"It's fine. It wasn't you," said Raph. Was he trying to act comforting?

"Master Splinter told me the demon was a guy from his past who has sworn revenge on Sensei and all of us," explained April. Leo and Mikey looked to her for elaboration; she couldn't she him, but she assumed Raph was listening intently.

She continued to tell the store that Sensei had just told her, and she watched a confused look spread across the boy's faces. When she had finished, Raphael started to laugh. April, Leo, and Mikey looked at him, horrified by his reaction.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Raph said, giving up on the punching bag and timidly taking the spot on the other side of April. "Sounds like Sensei's got the wrong angry demon."

"I agree that it doesn't make sense," April concurred, putting her hands to her temples, pleading with her brain to scrounge up even the slightest memory from earlier. She uttered a huff of frustration by the nothingness that she found. "I just wish I could remember. Maybe, if I could regain my memories from when the spirit took over my body, then we would be closer to learning more about him."

"And when we know more about him," continued Leo, "we'll be able to figure out what evil things he's planning."

"And then we can kick his ghost butt back to the storm he came from," smiled Raph.

"Oh, oh! And then," added Mikey, "we can do one of those group high-five's like they do in Crognard!"

"Mikey, we only have three fingers."

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 **I had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did! I'm going to have some extra time on my hands so it's possible you might get an update tomorrow or the next day :)**

 **Keep it up with the awesome reviews! I really enjoy seeing what you guys have to say; I need all the help I can get.**


	4. Chapter 4

**See guys! I told you I'd update soon!**

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Just as Raphael began to feel like he had his emotions under control, April had to go and get herself hurt again, like she always did. If he had a nickle for every time they had to save the red head from some sort of bad guy then...well...Raphael would have a helluva lot of nickels. She was almost a full kunoichi, yet she often found herself in positions where she couldn't take care of things on her own. She would pester the brothers, complaining why she didn't get to go on any solo or pair missions. But more often than not, she would just end up getting captured, or worse, hurt.

And, as much as he hated to admit it, Raph loved that about the girl.

Without the ultimate goal of saving her, missions seemed to be a little less interesting and he felt a little more useful. And just when Raph was starting to feel especially useful, he found himself in his bedroom, reading an old comic book, with nothing more to do than wait for April to make a mental breakthrough. He felt ineffective, and he hated it. It would've been easier if they were facing an actual person, Raph could take care of them with a few well-placed punches. But he was completely at a loss of what to do with a spirit. _You can't punch a ghost_ Raph thought, mornfully.

Suddenly there was a curt knock at his already open bedroom door. Assuming that it was Mikey or Donnie, without straying from his magazine, Raph boredly asked, "what do you want?"

There was a huff in the doorframe. "Well if what you're doing now is _so_ important, I can come back later." April spun on her heels.

Raph's face turned as crimson as his mask and he snapped into the sitting position. "Wait!" he called, trying not to sound desperate. "Sorry April, I thought you were Mikey."

She giggled and entered the room. "It's fine. Donnie does the same thing too, sometimes." Pulling a stool from the corner, April sat and looked around, admiring the room. Raphael figured it was the first time she had been in here. He suddenly felt embarrassed at the messiness of it.

"Have you figured anything else out about our Demon Guy?" Raph asked, sitting tensely on the corner of his bed.

April sighed. "No luck. However he took over my mind, he made it so I basically blacked out when he first took hold of it." She groaned and rolled her head, a curl of orange brushing across her defeated eyes. "It's incredibly frustrating."

Part of him suddenly wanted to put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll figure it out." He didn't mention that if she didn't figure it out, they would be at a severe disadvantage.

"Donnie said he didn't think all this extra strain was good on my brain."

Raph scoffed. "You're going to listen to him?" He was genuinely interested in her answer.

"I'm fine," April affirmed, she suddenly looked down. "He wasn't there when I told you guys Sensei's story. He doesn't understand how important this is."

Their conversation stopped there, and Raph began to internally panic. This was probably the longest conversation he had had with April, just one-on-one, which was, the more he thought about it, extremely sad. She continued to survey the room, obviously in no hurry to leave or continue the conversation.

Finally, he couldn't take the silence. "So," said Raph, awkwardly, "is there something I can help you with?"

The wide blue saucers of her eyes leisurely met his. They quickly widened as she remembered. "Oh, yeah! Have you seen Casey?"

Raph's gaze fell. Of course she wanted to know about Casey. "Not since after you were, like, possessed. He was kind of shaken up." She nodded and looked to the ground, as if contemplating what he had just said.

Suddenly, April looked up, as if she had just realized something. She met his stare and refused to let go. But the gaze wasn't sharp, in fact, it reminded Raphael of the look Mikey would give him when Raph would share his slice of pizza with the little brother. It was a look of surprise and endearment.

When April finally did speak, it was slow, as if she was putting together pieces of a puzzle. "So Casey didn't visit me at all when I was unconscious?"

She knew. Raphael began to panic again. He looked around the room, begging for a way to quickly change the topic of conversation. "Well," he stuttered, "I really wouldn't know, you'll have to ask Donnie-"

"It _was_ you," she whispered, so softly Raphael almost didn't hear her. But he didn't need to know what she was saying. He was going against everything that he had worked for the past couple of years, building up walls to keep emotions out, or focusing his left over feelings towards the ultimate goal of defeating Shredder.

It had only been for a little bit. He told Donnie he was just checking on her progress because Master Splinter wanted to know. Just his luck, the five minutes that he was standing by her side, away from the judgements of his brothers and prying eyes, she had to wake up. He knew he was pushing it by stroking her arm, but it just felt so right at the time, he couldn't help himself. But he knew better than to stick around while she was waking up, suspicions might arise. Raph did not come this far to crack at the first sign of affection.

But here she was, sitting in his room, and uttering the three words he had feared hearing ever since he visited her. Raph couldn't read the red head's expression well enough to tell if she was thrilled or disgusted. He feared it was the latter. Why would April want him when she had two perfectly good suitors attending to her every need?

Maybe April wouldn't think anything of the fact that he visited her; they were friends after all. Raph prayed that she wouldn't look too far into it, but he had to do something, she had backed him into a corner. If he confessed, April might be weirded out or revolted. But if he denied it, he might be losing his only chance to connect with the girl.

Finally, Raph sighed and dropped his head, signaling to April that her statement was correct.

She let out a soft laugh of disbelief. "Why?"

"I was just, y'know, checking to see if everything was okay." He was stuck, and April knew it. How could she stand to be so confrontational? Just as he began to panic to the point of sweating, Mikey burst into his room. Raph exhaled in relief.

"Raph, we're ordering pizza! What kind do you want?" He turned to see April sitting on the stool in the corner. His eyes widened in surprise, as he looked quickly between the girl and the red turtle. "Were you two-?"

"No!" Raph quickly stood up. "No way!" He started to head out the door. "C'mon Mikey, let's go get some pizza." He bolted out of the room, leaving Mikey in a cloud of confusion and April with her head in her hands.

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It could not have been after 2 am, yet April couldn't get to sleep. She was afraid that if she retreated to dreamland, the spirit of Kaito Yoshiro would return, and she would have once again lost the only chance they had to figure out more about him. Her stomach churned nervously, and it wasn't just because Mikey had convinced her to try some of his anchovy and garlic pizza.

She couldn't stop thinking about her and Raphael's conversation. She had assumed right, it was his voice and his touch. Now that she had this information, April was at a loss of what to do with it. This wasn't a for sure sign that Raph had any feelings for her, after all, they were friends. But there was something about the whole way Raph conducted himself during her confrontation. He seemed especially stiff (well, more than usual) as opposed to his usual easy going, cynical nature. And the way he bolted out the door and refused to speak to her for the rest of the evening, seemed a little suspicious. Though she did see him throw some glances every time Casey or Donnie would offer her their slice of pizza.

Suddenly, April's train of thought was broken with a splitting headache, this one fiercer than the rest. _This is it!_ She gasped and grabbed her head, determined not to blackout. The lids of her eyes felt heavy, and it felt like one of Snow White's seven dwarfs were slowly chiseling away at her occipital lobe. But there was no way she was going to lose him this time. She'd lost the connection two other times before, but April was determined to keep the connection between her and the demon. She put a finger to her temple, trying to communicate through her telepathic powers.

 _What do you want?_ she thought, concentrating on trying to stay conscious. She received nothing but the continuous sharp pain in her head. _I know who you are. What you do want with us?_

She began to break into a sweat, but April was determined not to lose to the spirit. The muscles in her upper body began to shake from all her exertion; her breath came short to keep from screaming and alerting this others, this time she would do it on her own. Little by little, she felt more overcome with the same dark feeling she had experienced during her first nightmare and she knew the demon was approaching. The air suddenly felt frigid, and when April opened her eyes, the lighting in her room seemed to be dimmer. Her body began to convulse in her bed as she felt the presence of the demon. _I know you can hear me Kaito Yoshiro!_ she called out through her thoughts. _Show yourself!_

 _I'll do you one better, April O'Neil_ whispered a raspy voice. _I'll bring you and your friends to meet me._

Suddenly, April opened her eyes and a dark fog began to surround her. With all her strength, the red head let out one painful cry, and she gave into the pain and passed out.

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 **Thank you guys for the awesome reviews! I'll try to update soon. This story is so fun for me, I can't wait to show you what I have planned!**


	5. Chapter 5

Leonardo couldn't sleep.

He had been sitting in on the couch for hours, absentmindedly flipping through the television channels, trying to make his eyes droop even the slightest. His plaston rose and fell smoothly, and the blue turtle tried to take deep breaths to self-induce sleep, but ever fiber in his being seemed to be buzzing with energy. Leo wasn't quite sure why he was suddenly on edge, but it probably had something to do with the demon from Splinter's past.

What bugged Leonardo the most about the whole idea was their Sensei's secrecy. Up until now, Master Splinter had always been very open about his past, even when it involved the loss of his wife at the hand of his nemesis. Even with his more personal memories, Sensei usually would answer Leo if asked. He often liked to think of himself as Splinter's favorite because of it.

And suddenly, this new demon shows up, and master won't say a word to anyone. Well, anyone except April.

Leo felt his hand clench around the remote, to which he quickly relaxed it. _It doesn't make any sense_ he thought, _why would Sensei tell April about this spirit and not me? I'm the leader._

It's not that Leo was jealous, it's just that he hated being left out of the loop. He felt like it was his personal responsibility as the leader to protect and lend aid to anyone who needed it, and it was kind of hard to help if he had no idea what they were dealing with.

Suddenly, there was a rustling that came from the hallway behind him, and Leonardo turned to see Raphael sulking towards the kitchen.

Leo festered a smile. "Can't sleep either?"

Raphael scoffed, opening the fridge and grabbing a piece of leftover pizza. "Heroes never sleep." He said it more as unfortunately true statement than a joke.

The blue turtle sighed as his brother took a seat on the adjacent couch, and they sat watching television, with nothing but Raph's chewing jaw to break the silence. Leo threw him a quick glance and noticed that he was intensely watching the TV, even though what was on was an infomercial for a fitness program that had been on for hours.

"Hey Raph, you okay?" he asked. The red turtle didn't respond, his eyes unfocused and his gaze far. "Raph?"

Raphael snapped to attention. "What?" he barked.

"Are you okay?"

Raph's eye got wide, but were suddenly scrunched into a grimace by his furrowed brow. "I'm fine." He turned his body so that his shell was facing his brother while still maintaining a view of the infomercial. After a few seconds, Raphael's eyes peeked over his shell and saw Leo still looking at him, confused. "Why are you staring at me?"

Leo blinked and quickly looked away. Did he seem more distant and unfocused, or was Leo just making it up? It was late and his thoughts were jumbled. Leo shook his head, trying to clear his brain. "No reason," he replied. Again, there was a tense silence, as Raph turned a cold shoulder to his brother. "Thanks for helping Donnie look after April today," Leo offered, trying to coax out what was wrong with his brother.

Raph suddenly tensed, Leo had obviously touched on a sore subject. "It was no problem. Had to make sure that Gizmo Geek was doing things right," he replied curtly.

Leo smirked. "You were making sure Donnie didn't mess up? No offense, but I'll take Donnie's medical advice over yours any day."

 _Was Raph blushing?_ "Well my supervision must have worked for something, because she's all good now, isn't she?" He didn't break contact with the glowing scream.

"Well you would know," Leo mused.

Raph's glare slowly shifted towards his unnaturally calm brother. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, jaw clenched.

Leonardo probably should've just stopped talking, taken it all back and returned to sitting in uncomfortable silence, but part of him wanted to know if what Mikey had told him was true. Plus, he loved holding information over his brother.

The oldest turtle spoke leisurely. "Oh Mikey just told me that-"

Raphael exploded.

"Mikey doesn't know what he's talking about!" he fumed. "And if you believe anything that he says, you're just as stupid as him!"

From under his mask, one of Leo's eyebrows raised. "So April wasn't in your room?"

Raph began to panic again. He was about to completely deny everything until a high-pitched cry came from the hallway. The turtle brothers quickly looked to each other, and then bolted towards April's room.

"We have to stop this Evil Spirit once and for all," commanded Leo. Raph nodded sharply and he opened the door to the girl's room.

Instantly, the brothers were surrounded by a black fog and quickly lost sight of each other. Every time one of them would open their mouth to call for help, the fog would choke them and leave them coughing like a chain-smoker. Raph tried to pull himself forward towards April bed. He crawled on the floor until his hand came in contact with the metal bedpost of April's cot. The red turtle pulled himself up and felt the bed, which to his surprise, was empty. It was then, that a fire was lit in his chest: he'd had just about enough of this creepy demon.

 _You won't find you precious girl here, mutant freak_ , whispered a voice. Raphael recognized it as the voice that was talking through April when she was possessed: the demon. The grip around his sais tightened.

"Where is she?" bellowed Raph through fits of coughing.

 _Do not fear, angry one, you with soon be reunited with the charming redhead._ The demon let out a low cackle. _She's feisty, your friend. But taking her will be nothing comparing to taking you and your brothers!_

Suddenly, the floor dropped out from under Raphael, but he stayed suspended among the dark fog. He struggle, piercing the dense mist with his sais, but to no avail. He was surrounded by nothing but the occasional evil laugh of the demon.

* * *

The first sense that came back to April after she gained consciousness was her sense of smell. Taking one deep breath in, her nose was immediately filled with the scent of salt and old fish. Usually, April didn't mind seafood, sushi was a common food eaten around the turtles, but this fish smelled like it had been sitting in a plastic bag in ninety degree heat for a week, and her room was the plastic bag. After resisting the urge to vomit, April threw her feet over the side of her bed and held her head in her hands. Her ears were the next to come into focus, picking up on various rustling sounds and the creaking of some kind of wood.

April's eyes quickly snapped open, realizing what had happened.

A thousand thoughts rushed through her fragile mind. _Where am I? What does the demon want with me? Where are my friends?_ Her blue saucers flitted around the room, and with every gaze, she felt more and more terrified.

She was nowhere near New York, this much was evident. By the looks of the decor and design, April gathered that she was on some sort of ship, and her wobbly stance confirmed this. All the furniture, what little there was, was made of wood. There was a small desk and stool across from her cot that took up about a fourth of the already small cabin. The lighting in the room was provided by various blue bottles with candles shimmering inside; obviously someone was trying to make the space seem classy despite the cracked windows and broken floorboards. As April stood and steadied herself, she realized that her body was no longer adorned in her yellow pajamas, but was instead wrapped in a tight black kimono with pink flowers. Her hands ran down the smooth silk and her eyes observed that the outfit fit very well, which left the redhead even more confused.

Taking a deep breath, April quickly opened the door that lead to a long wood hallway. Peeking her head out, April observed that there was no one on deck, and set out to find the obvious man behind her kidnapping: Kaito Yoshiro.

She pressed her body against the wall, breathing scantly as her delicate feet tiptoed down the hallway. Suddenly, April's ears perked. The sound of creaking on the wood floor simulated footsteps, and she quickly ducked behind a barrel for fear of being seen. A door opened.

But there was no noise. April sat, knees pressed as best they could in her dress to her chest, not daring to make a sound. After what felt like hours passed without a noise, she peeked her head over the side of the barrell, but was disappointed to find nothing but a door open to the room next to hers.

 _Maybe that's Kaito Yoshiro's room,_ April thought, and quickly darted into the room. To her dismay, the cabin was an exact replica of her own, complete with a desk and stool, and even a few candles. Just as she was about to leave, April turned and saw Leonardo and Raphael standing in the doorway.

"Guys!" April cried, and embraced both of them in a big hug. "I thought I'd never see you again." The hug seemed to linger as April enjoying the affection of the brothers. When they were finally pulled apart,the brother's eyes danced on her new outfit, Leo looking the most uncomfortable.

"Uh, April, I didn't know you owned a kimono," he stutter.

"Really? That's the strangest thing about this situation?" She looked down and was immediately embarrassed. "I guess my yellow pajamas weren't formal enough for an evil spirit meet-up."

"How did you get here, April?" Leo asked, after he shut the door and sat on the small stool.

April took a seat on the cot, leaving Rapheal to awkwardly stand against the door. Part of her hoped he would sit down next to her, but after their last conversation, sitting next to her was probably the last thing he wanted to do.

"The demon revisited me last night, but this time, I was determined not to let him go. He said something about us all meeting him, and then I blacked out and awoke here," April recalled.

"That's a brave thing you did, April," commented Rapheal, sincerely, "stupid, but brave."

April restrained a blush. "Well it didn't do much good, he just ended up capturing us."

"Do you know if Mikey and Donnie are here?" asked Leo.

She shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure. I was beginning to look around the ship when I found you two."

"We need to find them," said Raph, "and then convince this demon to take this ship back to New York." He hit his knuckles together, signalling that the way he would convince the demon was through force.

 _Oh, I've come too far to turn back the ship_ , whispered the voice of the demon. April covered her ears, trying to shut out the voice, but when she looked up, she realized that Raph and Leo could hear the voice as well. _Join me on the main deck. And don't try anything funny, it would be a shame to kill your brothers so early in the cruise._

* * *

 ** _Hope you guys enjoy the fifth installment of this story! Sorry to change the name on you, but I felt this title was little better fitting than the other one. Also, I keep thinking of cool and new things to add to this story, so stay tuned for more!_**

 ** _Review, favorite, and/or follow!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**I would like to apologize for the sheer lateness of this chapter. Hopefully it will never happen again.**

* * *

Casey awoke in a cold sweat. When he sat up, he realized that he was still wearing all of his vigilante gear. Ripping off the sloppily painted hockey mask, Casey wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead as he thought back to how exhausted he was when he fell asleep in his gear. He remembered stumbling into his family's two bedroom apartment (he must have been exhausted because Casey didn't even remember saying goodnight to his sister) and falling onto his bed. Mental fatigue had covered his mind like a thin layer of lightly falling snow, there wasn't much of it, but it was definitely always there. Lately, the circuits in his mind had been firing on all cylinders, and most of the time the main lead in Casey's thoughts was the Spirit dude.

Even when his eyes were closed, Casey still saw him. Or rather, he saw April being possessed by him, and that thought was way worse than just the spirit alone. Sleeping peacefully had been out of the question ever since.

It was early, but Casey couldn't go back to sleep. He tiptoed down the creaky wooden hallway leading to the kitchen, engulfed a bowl of Cheerios, and raced out the door, eager to return to his underground friends. As he slipped down the sewer grate, the Cheerios in his stomach couldn't help but churn in his stomach. Why did he have such an uneasy feeling?

Casey rocketed into the lair, skates on and excited for an adventure. But instead, his hoots and hollers only bounced off the walls and echoed back to him, followed by an erie silence.

"Guys?" Casey asked more timidly. He skated down the hallway, peering through each door to find the messy rooms completely devoid of life. A panic began to resound through his body, as he skated furiously around the room, praying that the guys and April were just playing a prank, a very cruel prank.

"Casey Jones?" asked a low voice. Casey turned and saw Master Splinter standing in the opening to his room. The rat man still put Casey on edge, but after he had graciously taken in April, he had decided to trust the guy. "What's going on?" The rat looked around the barren lair. "Where are the boys?"

"I was kinda hoping you'd know that," Casey replied.

* * *

The relief Raphael felt when he finally found April was short lived as the Ghost of Eternal Annoying-ness opened his big mouth. Raphael wanted the relief that he felt to carry out longer, it covered up the massive amounts of anger building in his chest. He was angry at the Spirit for getting him into this mess, angry at Leo for being so nosey, angry at Mikey for tattling to Leo.

But most of all, he was angry at April for disappearing and scaring the hell out of him.

The three of them cautiously made their way up onto the deck of the ship, but it was extremely difficult, given that the ship was tossing like a sock on the spin cycle. Every now and then, the ship would randomly jolt, casually throwing the trio into a nearby wall. April had it the hardest; her skin-tight kimono allowed for little stability. Raph tried to keep his stance wide and steady, but even his superior coordination was no match for the raging storm. When they finally did reach the deck, Raph suddenly wished to be back below, in the safe confines of the cabin.

They were caught in a storm, the worst Raphael had ever seen. The sides of the wooden barge tipped almost to the point of facing vertically, the ocean ferociously slamming the port and starboard with terrifying force. All three of them grabbed the railing to a staircase leading up to the main steering wheel. As Raph's eyes received pelts of frigid rain, they followed the path of the stairs, focused upon a green, transparent figure, whom he could only assume was the spirit, and saw Mikey and Donnie tied to a pole, unconscious.

Raph fumed. "Let them go you bug-eyed Demon!" He crouched and spun his Sais in his hands, preparing for battle.

Thinking back on it, neither the brothers nor April had ever actually seen him before, so his original ghost form was a complete surprise. The spirit stood about eight feet tall, making Raphael feel miniscule in comparison. But as the ghost moved closer, it was revealed that he was levitating above the ground. As the demon peered over the railing, Raph's eyes went immediately to his face. The skin of his face seemed to be holding onto the bone for dear life, a sign of immense aging. But the details of old age ended there. He had a rectangular face completed with a wide, sturdy chin. The arch of a nose was nonexistent, leaving it flat, and his eyes were completely black and distant. His mouth was one straight line. It was almost as if his facial features were afraid to look anything less than intimidating, and Raphael might've actually been intimidated, if the demon wasn't completely glowing in sea foam green sparkles.

Nevertheless, the spirit's presence was noted as he stood above them, arms cross, robe flowing with each gust of salty wind. His stance never wavered, no matter how much the boat tossed and turned. The trio continued to gain and regain their balance with each toss of the ship, all the while under the fierce but silent glare of the demon.

"You heard him!" yelled April. "Let them go!"

The demon's mouth curled from a line into a slight parabola. "April O'Neil, you of all people should know that I am not so easily intimidated." Raph was surprised that, throughout the vicious rain and violent wind gusts, the spirit's calm and greasy voice carried smoothly through the storm.

"Who are you?" asked Leonardo. "What do you want with us?"

"Oh I'm sorry, did April not tell you?" he smirked, leaning on the railing. "I am Kaito Yoshiro, leader of the prosperous Kaito clan. Founder of the thriving Kaito Industries." He threw his arms open for dramatic effect. "And what I want? Well, that's a little more complicated."

Raph started to get impatient. He didn't like the way Mikey and Donnie's necks flopped with each toss of the ship. "We don't have time for stories," Raph grumbled to April and Leo, tightening his grip around his weapons. "We have to free Mikey and Donnie."

Leo nodded. He sheathed his katanas and stepped towards where the demon was towering them before them. Raph and April quickly looked at the turtle, and then to each other, and back at Leo. April shrugged.

"Oh great Yoshiro," called Leo, facing the spirit and opening his arms. "Please grace us with the reason why you have gathered us here."

Yoshiro's eyes widened with surprise. He smiled again, obviously flattered. "Well, all of my problems began when I sent my vessels on their first voyage." He looked to sky in remembrance.

"Uh huh," said Leo, hooked on every word.

"C'mon," whispered April, pushing Raph out of the direct view of Yoshiro. They followed a wooden wall around to the back of the deck the spirit was standing on. "Give me a lift, I'll cut them free," she whispered.

"No way!" Raph rebutted. "How are you going to carry Mikey AND Donnie? Also, what would happen if that demon heard you?" He pushed her shoulders away from the wall. "I'll free them."

April groaned. "Why don't we both free them?"

"No can do," said Raph, hoping Yoshiro wasn't running out of story to tell. He turned towards the wall, preparing to jump when he felt a petite hand on his shoulder.

"Why do you want to do this alone?" she demanded.

He wanted to yell at her. He wanted to shout and tell her that this was too dangerous, that the first time she had been possessed had upset him and he didn't want anything like that to happen again. She was quite a sight in her sopping wet black dress, hair plastered to her face from the rain and a determined look in her eye. Raph suddenly wasn't sure why he was so adamant about her not helping. April certainly wasn't helpless, she had proved that on many occasions. This sudden need to protect her felt foreign to Raphael, and he quickly shook it off.

"Fine," he grumbled. He stuck out his hand and hoisted the red head onto the deck. When Raphael had finally climbed on the deck, he was surprised to see April already cutting Mikey and Donnie free.

But suddenly, Raphael was struck with a thought. Even if they did manage to free his brothers without Yoshiro noticing, what then? There was no way to tell for sure where they were, and there was no chance of swimming in this storm. This thought caused Raph to freeze, with in turn, caused April to look at him with confusion. Raph never froze up, why was he doing this now?

Deciding to keep moving forward with their "mission", April wrapped an arm of an unconscious Donnie over her shoulder and began to pull him towards the stairs. Forgetting to take into account the weight of the lanky turtle plus shell with the fact that her outfit prohibited her from basic movements, April struggled to keep her balance between the tossing boat and her total deadweight. She turned back to see if Raph was following her, when she suddenly felt the already frigid air grow colder.

"Very bold, Miss O'Neil, trying to save your friends," flattered Yoshiro. "But I'm afraid you've only sunk your ship further." The demon pointed back to where April had just freed Donnie, to see that Raph and Leo were now tied up as well. Thought they were fully conscious, Mikey still lay limp besides them.

"What do you want, Kaito Yoshiro?" she asked, tightening her grip on Donnie.

"Well if you had been listening as well at the dumb turtle here," he pointed a crooked finger towards Leo, "you might have heard." The spirit levitated over towards her friends and traced a jagged nail up Leo's chin. "Why don't you tell your friend what you learned?"

Leo gulped. "Um...well...the thing is…"

"YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION?" Yoshiro boomed so loud that April felt the floor boards rattle. Leo sulked, embarrassed and the demon turned back towards April. He sighed, "Well if I'm going to tell you, why don't we get more comfortable?" With one sea foam green snap, April, the turtles, and Yoshiro found themselves in an elaborate cabin. Donnie was no longer on her shoulder, but instead, tied up with the rest of the brothers, laying his head against Raph's shoulder. But it was often jolted around on account of Raph's persistent struggling. He kept getting frustrated about his whole capture, which would just make him more angry. He had to rely that April could get them out of this.

The ghost sat behind an oak desk with a blue velvet table cloth. There was nothing on the desk except a piece of paper, a quill, and a globe. At first, the globe looked relatively normal, but upon further inspection, it was noted that the globe showed no forms of land. It was a blue ball.

"Let's just get down to brass tax, shall we Miss O'Neil?" Yoshiro asked, greasily. "I only visited my dear friend Hamato Yoshi because he had something that I wanted."

April raised a damp eyebrow. "And that is?"

The demon's smile curved in such a way, that it sent a shiver down her spin. "You."

* * *

 **Not gonna lie guys, this chapter was a struggle. What with the ever-increasing hiatus of this show on Nickelodeon (as well as my discovery and later obsession with some other animated shows) I just wasn't feeling very inspired or compelled to write. But then, this amazing this happened called a comic convention and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel was just the thing to get my creative juices up and running.**

 **Seriously though, if you watch this show and havn't checked out the news about season 4, I strongly suggest it.**

 **As always favorite, follow, and/or review. I love to hear from you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys. I'm so incredibly sorry by the lateness of this chapter. But I put a lot of effort into it, so I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

April fidgeted nervously in her seat. On the floor, a gasp escaped from the two conscious brothers.

"Not happening," Leo stated bluntly. Raphael growled in agreement.

Yoshiro perched a glowing green eyebrow, his thin lips sliding into a crescent. "Right, because your previous attempts to stop me have succeeded _so_ well."

Leo's open mouth was instantly closed at the sharp comment, leaving Raph to ask, "What do you want with April anyways?" His muscles surged under the tethered rope, still attempting to break free of their bindings.

"I do believe I owe you an explanation, Miss O'Neil," confessed the ghost. Taking a deep breath for effect. "A long time ago, I was a successful ship man-"

"And you lost one of your boats in a storm and you blamed it on Splinter," the red head interrupted. "We already know."

The thin crescent did not falter. "So I see Hamato Yoshi remembers what he did to me all those years ago. But even he does not know the whole story."

"There's more?" the blue turtle asked, not prepared for another one of the ghost's long-winded tales.

"Yoshi's irresponsibility is the reason I am eternally cursed to travel in this tempest. But riddle me this, talking terrapin, if I wanted to exact revenge on your 'father' so bad, wouldn't I require you and your brothers as opposed to your human friend here?" The ghost paused for a response, but both Leo and Raph looked to each other in confusion. "Of course there's more to the story!"

The turtles huffed, obviously realizing that they were going nowhere until the ghost had spun his tale. April crossed her legs and rested against the back of the chair, preparing for a long oratory.

"Before my ship was cursed in this eternal tempest, I was the head of the Kaito Clan," began the demon. "We were very prosperous, with ships sailing to all four corners of the world. My boat-making industry was among the best in the world, and I was living the life of luxury. One day, I was launching one of my newest ships in a nearby harbor, when I saw the most beautiful women I had ever seen, washing clothes in the water. Her name was Jian Chen, and I knew right away that she had to be mine. I introduced myself, and instantly we knew our connection was strong. I asked her father for his blessing that day, and we were even planning to be married shortly after."

"Aww how romantic," squeaked a voice in the corner. Everyone turned to see Mikey, head perched on his knuckles, entranced by the ghost's story. April smiled despite herself, glad that the youngest brother was okay. Her glee was short-lived though, as her eyes fell to Donnie, who was still limp. Even though she only saw the younger brother as a friend, there was no doubt that she cared deeply for his well being.

"Mikey, when did you wake-up?" asked Raph.

The orange turtle laughed, "I've been awake the whole time, Bro. I didn't want to squash Glow-worm's moment." Mikey turned back to Yoshiro and bowed his head, "please, sir, continue."

The ghost gave Mikey a peculiar look, but shook it off as he continued. "Anyways, Jian Chen and I were engaged to be married, but during our wedding preparations, I was reminded off an old tradition kept in the Clan. Every couple must visit the Elder Spirit Sage, Mika, who calls upon the ancient spirits to see if they will bless you with a bountiful marriage and many offspring. No blessing from the spirits is a marital death sentence.

When Chen and I went to consult the Sage, we were in the middle of an argument. Chen was angry because I had recently fired all the women working in my shipyard."

April's eyes flashed. "Why would you do that?"

Yoshiro groaned. " _Because_ they couldn't physically handle the day to day tasks that were required in the boat-building industry. I was losing money keeping them around. And, based on their quality of work, they were better off taking care of their families and cooking meals."

The red-head didn't back down. "That's so inconsiderate and sexist!"

"Yeesh you sound like Chen!" The ghost complained. "She just kept going on and on about how it wasn't right to fire all those women and that they were losing income, and gibberish like that."

"She's right," huffed April.

"Well anyways, we continued to fight until we were right outside of Mika's house. But before we entered the small, airy hut, we both agreed to put on a happy face while we consulted the spirits, neither of us daring want to upset them. But when we entered the house, Mika was waiting for us, and she had heard the whole skirmish.

"At first, neither of us had realized that Mika had listened in. But we quickly found out, when she began to summon the spirit of the oppressed women I had fired and not the marital ones. With each wave of her arm, Mika brought forward a new moaning voice, a new tormented soul cursing my name, a new life I had destroyed. What made matters worse is that the souls were still living. The Sage was able to summon them given that most in the village were asleep."

"How did that make things worse?" Leo asked, hooked on every word.

"Spirits of the living are much more powerful emotionally than the spirits of the dead given that their souls are still connected with their bodies. Because of this, I felt everything the women felt. Tears, stress, anxiety, it all became my burden."

April scrunched her face. "I hope you felt terrible."

The spirit took a heavy sigh, the wave of long forgotten memories fermenting in his brain. "Mika was ruthless towards me, going so far as to bring forth the spirits of the women's' families. As the waves of sobbing children began to fill the room, it had fully occurred to me the error of my ways. Beside me, I saw Chen was paralyzed with fear, a single tear darting out of her wide brown eyes, shaken down her cheeks by tremors. I begged Mika to cease this torture, but she only continued, as stoic as a statue. I reached towards Chen to comfort her, but as soon as my finger grazed her forearm, her brown saucers darted to me with a look of horror." Yoshiro's face fell. "I had never see her look at me that way before. The pure fear, paranoia, and utter discontent. She didn't deserve any of this. It was all my fault."

The room was silent as the ghost paused in recollection.

April was speechless. She had no idea a spirit who was capable of such evil could feel so broken. It reminded her of their nemesis back home, and how the loss of his loved one drove him to a thirst for revenge. Given different circumstances, April might have pitied the ghost.

"Do you need a tissue?" the youngest turtle asked, breaking the emotional silence.

Yoshiro quickly gathered his senses to give a curt "no" and prepared to continue.

"Mika went on until both Chen and I were on our knees, begging for her to stop. Only then did she cease to summon. But the wave of her arms was replaced with a terrifying bane."

Suddenly, Yoshiro's eyes began to glow white, and when he opened his mouth, the voice of a ferocious lady cut the air. April jumped back in her seat. Mikey gasped. Leo and Raph sat, awestruck. Donnie began to arouse.

" _Cursed are you as much and more as you have cursed these poor souls_ ," shrieked Mika, through Yoshiro's mouth. " _Your household will always be a barren one, and you will be forced to live in eternal spiritual torment, when your soul becomes unattached from this earth."_ The vessel seemed to rock more violently with each word the ghost spoke, to the point where April was thrown off her chair and into the pile of tied-up turtle brothers. No one uttered a word as Kaito Yoshiro's eyes faded back to their original green. Donnie was now fully awake and paralyzed with confusion. April felt a warm hand rest over her shivering one, not having to look to know that it was Raphael's.

The ghost patiently folded his hands in his lap, continuing without taking much note of the obscure outburst. "After Mika left me with those words, the spirits dissipated, and I felt the tension in my body melt away. We returned to our home, physically intact, but mentally devastated. Having a family meant the world to Chen, and the fact that she would never be able to have any broke her. She ended our engagement the next day, and moved to another town, striving to forget. I haven't heard from her since."

He closed his eyes. "I loved her, and it's because of my mistakes that she had to be miserable for the rest of her life. One day, I vowed to find her again, and make everything up to her."

April stood up amid the tossing ship. She spoke slowly, mentally shaken by the tale just told. "So, this isn't a revenge story. You just want to make it up to her."

The crescent returned, as the ghost looked amicably into her eyes. "That is where you come in, Miss O'Neil."

Any feeling of remorse April felt towards this spirit was immediately dashed as the red-head was reminded of her current predicament.

"You want April?" Donnie squeaked. They were the first words he had uttered since he had become conscious, and were so innocent and full of worry. April was reminded that he had been completely incapacitated during their entire adventure above deck as well as the majority of their adventure below. She knew that he must be terrified not knowing where he was, or how the shell they had gotten tied up. But no, that wasn't the first thing he was worried about. The purple turtle was concerned for the well being of the girl in the silk kimono who was unbound by ropes. It broke her heart knowing he cared for her so much, and that eventually, she'd have to break his.

"How does April fit in to this?" Raphael growled.

"Isn't it obvious?" the ghost chortled. "I mean to take her as my daughter and return to live a normal life with Jian Chen!

A collective _huh?_ went through the five and April didn't know what she found more ridiculous: the fact that Yoshiro wanted to basically adopt her against her will, or that he somehow thought they could all live a normal life together. After throwing a quick look to the brothers, she could tell they were thinking the same thing.

"When Hamato Yoshi wrecked my vessel, I figured out the perfect way to have my revenge and be united with Chen: I would steal Yoshi's own daughter for my own!"

Once again, the five looked to each other, none of them wanting to correct the excitable demon's obvious misinformation.

"I can see several things wrong with this plan," mumbled Raph.

April's brow furrowed. "You're crazy if you think I'm willingly going to go along with this."

Yoshiro guffawed. "I figured you'd say that. You're strong spirited, just like Chen. That's why I brought your friends along."

With a quick snap of his fingers, Yoshiro was gone and the turtles with him. April scrambled out of the cabin, running as fast as she could despite the garment restriction and wobbly walkway. Upon reaching the storming deck, the red-head spotted Yoshiro floating at the bow of the boat, suspending the struggling turtles midair.

"Come with me, Miss O'Neil," called the ghost as the wind whipped April's ears, "or your friends will be taking a little swim in the churning waves of the tempest."

"Don't do it April!" Donatello called. The other three followed with the same advice.

"Go ahead, Yoshiro," spat April. "They're turtles, they'll just swim."

"At first, maybe," cackled the ghost. "But the waves in this storm are different from any storm you have ever seen. No human has survived it's unforgiving tow." April gasped, and even the turtles were silenced by this possibility. "Give it up, April O'Neil. You have nowhere to go."

The wind pulled at the tight, sopping kimono as April looked out on the horizon. She knew there was no other alternative than to give herself up. Living with the ghost and his mentally plagued ex-fiancé wouldn't be so bad, as long as her friends were safe. As long as Raphael was safe.

The ship jolted and April was pushed into the side of the ship. Regaining her balance, the red-head steadied herself on the thin piece of wood that separated her from the violent grey sea, and it was then she began to force her brain to sort through possibilities. It was her Yoshiro wanted, but if she cooperated, there was still no trusting that Yoshiro would peaceful return his strongest leverage against Splinter. If she didn't cooperated, April just had to hope that they could swim damn near perfect to survive this storm. They were turtles, after all. In April's flustered state, her mind figured that there was one solution with a higher probability of success, and that meant she would have to be uncooperative.

But how? For a brief second, the red-head considered openly refusing the ghost's offer, but what after that? There was no way to physically resist or escape and Yoshiro would end up forcing her to do his bidding. April would be thrust into the role of adoptive daughter while the turtles took a swim in their best chance at escape. Maybe this was the only way for her friends to survive.

Once again the ship rocked and all balance was thrown to the wind. April grabbed hold of the ships edge, her face thrown parallel to the rocking waters. But, as she looked out onto the sea, a wild, and terrible idea popped into her mind. There was no guarantee that she would make it out alive, but it didn't matter; she refused to give Yoshiro what he wanted and this was her friend's best chance at escape. As her mind was made up, April had time to throw one last farewell glance at Raphael, whose eyes had never strayed from hers. His emerald saucers widened as he received her mournful look, realizing what she was about to do. His mouth open to shout, but Raph felt all words ripped from his throat at the sheer thought of never seeing her again. The nauseating vessel and cut off circulation from his bindings was a pleasant sense, compared to the pain of his shattering heart. April smiled a bit, in spite of herself. She knew Raphael was worried for her, and she knew that he probably wasn't figuring how this would save him in the end. But April also knew this was the best shot at success.

As, Yoshiro turned back to address the raving red turtle, April saw her chance. Stepping up onto the edge of the ship, freedom was just within reach. Each gust and splash was inviting, begging for her to join them in the churning ocean. Inhaling deep, April closed her eyes

and gave in to the wind.

* * *

 **Well that was interesting and mentally draining to write. I've had the idea for this chapter stuck in my head for a long time and I was so excited to finally be able to add it to the story. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take quite as long and I can tell you now there will be much more Raphril to come!**

 **Favorite/Follow/Review! I love to hear from you guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I just wanted to thank all of my lovely reviewers who encouraged me to get off my lazy ass and update! I love hearing from you! Enjoy!**

* * *

The five teenagers circled around the fire Donnie had managed to make out of a few dry sticks, Mikey's lint collection that wasn't damaged by the swim, and April's shoelace. Despite the sparks the sputtered out by her feet and the blanket of woven leaves Donnie had made her, April didn't cease to shiver. It wasn't that she was cold, her clothes had already dried out from their swim, but mentally, she was still shaken. The red head couldn't help but go through again and again what had happened on the boat. Had she really thrown herself off the boat, not unlike someone releasing a feather into the wind? Had she really hit the frigid, stormy water and thought _I'm going to die_? Had she really been disappointed that Donnie was the first person to jump in after her?

As a child, April had never been a big fan of swimming. There used to be a nearby community center with a pool that Kirby would often take her too when she was young. April never remembered completely loathing the experience, it was just felt a little off-putting. The fact that the poor red-head immediately started to sink upon first contact with the pool, no matter how hard she paddled, scared her at first, though it was never admitted. When Kirby later enrolled her in swimming lessons, April plastered on a smile and every Wednesday from 3:30 to 5, she would learn as much as she needed to survive at a fifth grade birthday party.

There was no leisure in the sport for her, and thinking about it logically was the only this that got her through that hour and a half.

So when April had made it up in her mind to toss herself overboard, she dove into the depths of her memory to summon the skills she had learned all those years ago. It ended up not mattering anyway, all thoughts were bashed out of her brain when she first made contact with the glacial waves. All of a sudden, she was back in the community pool with her Dad, and sinking like a rock. She heard four collective voices scream her name before submerging.

Donnie's unforgiving grasp was the firm squeeze back into reality that April needed. When the redhead finally surfaced, she found herself panicking, splashing and thrashing uncontrollably. When the purple turtle tried to calm her down, he only receive a swift elbow to the chin.

She hadn't realized it until later, but it was Raphael, in the end, who was able to calm her down enough to lay her on his shell, to which she gripped for dear life while the brothers swam around, looking for any form of land. Her shivering phalanges gripped the rough outline of the terrapin's shell hard, while her bare legs dragged behind her in the water. April knew she had to be causing some discomfort, but the red turtle didn't complain. Raphael gently maneuvered each wave, even though the extra weight was causing him to lag behind his brothers.

Every now and then, April would try to lift her head and survey the area. Every time, Raph would look over his shoulder and gently whisper, "its okay April, you're doing great. We're almost there." The soft words brought warmth despite the cold, and it never ceased to bring a smile to her thin lips as they released a soft moan in response.

After what felt like hours, Donnie began to get impatient.

"I just don't see why you get to carry April the whole time," he complained to Raph, while April pretended to sleep on his back.

Her hands had moved around the red turtle's neck, and she felt his muscles clench. "We've talked about this, Donnie. I'm stronger than you."

"But even you can only last so long," Donnie pressed.

"Well maybe I wouldn't have had to last so long if you would've found land by now!" Raph refuted.

Donnie splashed, obviously throwing his hands in the air. "I'm sorry, Raph, that I have no idea where we are and thus NO IDEA WHERE LAND IS."

"Guys, enough!" silenced Leo. "We're all just tired from swimming for so long."

April heard a vague splash to her left. "Duude, I'm so tired, I just thought that bird was carrying a slice of pizza," Mikey whined, innocently.

There was silence, and then Donnie said, "Mikey, did you see a bird?"

"Yeah, dude," said the orange turtle. "It's over there."

April felt Raphael's body turn in the direction where Mikey must have been pointing, then she heard excited splashing to her right. "Mikey, you're a genius! Everybody, we have to follow that bird!"

"Wait, did I miss something?" Raph asked, his soft vocals running through his throat and vibrating under April's hands.

"Birds can't just wander around the ocean with nowhere to land," explained Donnie. "If we follow the bird, we'll find land." And so the five set out so follow the bird.

The storm had subsided immensely since they had all been tossed from the boat. The cerulean waves bounced rhythmically, making it almost impossible to stay energized. There was a soft breeze, not enough to cause a chill, but drying off from the original dip was out of the question. April longed for the moment when they would find land and she could dry out the black kimono she had been placed in upon arriving on the vessel. The comfort of a t-shirt and jeans was present in her mind, making a mental note to personally let Kaito Yoshiro know just how uncomfortable her new threads were the next time they cross paths.

Quite a bit of time had passed before Donnie finally called out that he saw an island. Looking up from the red turtle's shell, April saw the small, welcoming beach, and exhaled out of relief. She assured Raphael that she could swim the rest of the way on her own; even though he protested, April could tell he was exhausted from the long swim. Donnie also objected, but after enough persuading, she allowed him to swim behind her incase fatigue set in. When she slid off of Raphael's shell, a panic jittered through her nervous system forcing her brain to quickly remember all those swimming lessons long ago and order her appendages to perform a very clumsy breaststroke. The ice water numbed her aching fingers and wrists fingers, sore from gripping the shell, but each arm continued to push through the water, determined to show Donnie that she was fine on her own.

April had never been so happy to see sand in her life. The five collapsed on the white grainy pebbles, paying no mind to the waves that lapping at their legs. For minutes, they sat, panting out of exhaustion, before Donnie finally suggested finding shelter and building a fire.

It was nearly nightfall before they were all able to relax around the fire and think about what had happened over the past couple of hours.

Mikey was laying over a log and groaning. "Man, I'm so hungry! When are we goin' to get some food up in this joint?"

"I found some wild berries," offered Donatello. "But there's no way to tell if they're poisonous or not. I've never seen anything like them before." Mikey curled in a ball and huffed.

"So what's next?" April asked to no one in particular.

"We have to go after that creep, Kaito Yoshiro, and take him down once and for all," stated Raph.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "We couldn't defeat him once, what makes you think we can a second time?"

"Don't ask me," Raph spit back. "I'm not the leader."

All eyes turned to Leo, who was poking the fire with a stick, knees to his chest. He lowered his head in thought. "Raph's right, we will eventually need to stop Kaito Yoshiro, especially if he keeps pursuing April." Raph smirked at his younger brother. "But finding a way off of this island is our main priority."

"Our best chance is probably making a raft, given that we figure out where we are and which direction leads us back to New York," input the purple turtle.

"I know you'll find a way," April smiled. She almost didn't realize that the words had passed from her lip, after the rough day Donatello had, she knew he needed to hear it. Not-surprisingly, the turtle smiled back at her, and using the flattery as an excuse to position himself on the ground near her legs. From across the campfire flame, April saw Raphael tense up as Donnie leaned against her.

Leo nodded in Donnie's direction. "First thing in the morning, we'll start building the raft while Donnie tries to figure out where we are." The leader let out a somber yawn. "But we're not going to achieve much when we're exhausted. Everyone should get some sleep."

There was a mumble of agreement as everyone but Raphael got up to enter the shelter they had built. When Michelangelo questioned the red turtle, he simply stated that he would watch out for strange creatures while the rest of them slept. It was noble, despite the fact that Raph was probably the most exhausted, having carried another person on his back for most of the time.

The shelter was shaped like an A-frame, with logs stacked on either side for cover. The roofing and the flooring was made up of the same, large leaves that appeared to be waterproof and provides a nice barrier from the unknown. The inside was roomy enough for four turtles and a petite human girl to lay comfortably, but there was not much space other than that. April quickly occupied a spot near the edge of the shelter next to Michelangelo before Donnie could slide next to her. The view was such that if she lay down, the flickers of the dying fire could be seen easily, and with each dancing flame, Raphael was brought into view. She wondered what was going on in his head, if the memory of their talk in his room plagued his mind as much as it did hers. Could there be an underlying reason why he felt the need to carry her.

But fatigue soon overcame her, and streaks of red were the last thing she saw.

* * *

Raphael didn't mind watching the fire. Exhaustion meant nothing as long as he was able to keep friends and family safe.

But it couldn't have been more boring.

After the others were long asleep, Raphael found himself alone with his thoughts, burdened with no other task than to keep the fire alive. His stomach would growl, a cruel reminder of how very far away they were from home. He missed Master Splinter and beating up on the Foot Clan or Kraang Bots. For the first time in his life, Raphael wasn't sure that they'd come out on top against this villain, and that terrified him.

Pushing the troublesome thoughts out of his mind, Raphael picked up a stick, and began to absentmindedly draw in the sand, willing his thoughts in a more pleasant direction: April. She had been the only thing keeping him sane during this adventure. The goal of keeping her safe distracted him from the daunting end goal of taking down the bad guy.

But even the usually enjoyable thoughts of April were shattered by jealousy. Until now, Raphael was able to be respectful of his brother's feelings. Whenever Donnie would come up with one of his lame schemes to get April to go out with him, Raph would just ignore it or laugh, knowing that April would never go along with it. But after seeing his brother jump in after her, after she made the brilliantly stupid decision to go for a swim, the red turtle knew that this was no puppy-dog crush anymore. Donnie was willing to risk his life diving for this red head; he knew there was no promise he would make it out of the churning sea alive. But that wasn't what seemed to be bothering Raphael at the moment. He was madder at himself for not acting before his brother.

With an angry flurry, Raph threw the branch into the fire, setting loose an array of inferno, causing the turtle to pull away suddenly. _C'mon Raph_ , he willed, as if the sparks were a wake-up call _. You can't turn against your own brother, not now. He needs you, they all need you._

A rustle in the bushes jolted the red turtle's train of thought, as his eyes rose to meet with the cerulean saucers of the girl in question.

"Ready for a shift change?

Her voice was a charade of perkiness, even though Raphael knew April only had got a few hours of sleep. A smiled was plastered on her face, only accentuating the bags under her eyes, as she took a seat on the log opposite the turtle.

"April, its fine. I don't think I'm going to be sleeping anytime soon." He tried to copy her fallacy of a smile. April cocked an eyebrow.

"And you think I will?" she questioned sharply, but with no malicious intent. "I just threw myself from a pirate ship after a ghost asked to adopt me! All while wearing that second-skin kimono."

Raphael smirked, but made no move to go to bed, so April settled herself in, making the same decision. He was glad for the company.

"So you're not at all tired?"

Raph met her eyes through the tall flames.

"I mean," She continued, "I couldn't have weighed less than a feather. And you had to swim with me on your back for a while."

The red turtle put his hands behind his head and leaned against a log, eyes looking to the clear night sky. "It's not that I'm not tired, I'm exhausted-"

"-hey!"

He smirked. "But I just can't will myself to go to sleep." Exhale. "That sounds crazy."

April waited a beat, making the turtle's stomach tighten. "Well yes, that sounds crazy. But I understand. You don't want something else to happen to your brothers." She pulled her knees to her chest. "I guess that makes me the root of that problem."

"April, you know that's not true. That Yoshiro guy is a nut-job, and there wasn't anything you could do when he kidnapped you."

"Wasn't there?" she whispered. "I make myself up to be this great almost-kunoichi, when in reality, I'm still just the helpless little girl who got kidnapped by the Kraang the first time I met you."

Raphael's eyes flickered towards her, as he tried not to react to the fact that she said _you_ as opposed to _you guys_. "That's ridiculous, you've saved our butts plenty of times. You're the strongest girl I've ever met!"

April laughed. "If only that were true."

The red turtle was at a loss for words. How could this young woman not see how amazing and strong she was? He wanted to put into words just how brave she was to have grown up in New York City with nothing but a nervous single-father to guide her. He wanted to go into detail about how secretly afraid he was whenever they'd spar, because he knew she was improving in leaps and bounds. But most of all, Raphael wanted to elaborately enthuse about how selfless and courageous it was that she had risked her life to save the four of them on the ship.

But when the red turtle opened his mouth, only a sigh tumbled out.

Suddenly, April's eyes flashed mischievously. "Wanna see something cool?"

Absolutely unsure of what to expect, Raphael nodded stupidly. The redhead jumped up and took off into the forest, moving fast for someone who only got a few hours of sleep. The red turtle followed in pursuit, as she led them deeper into the jungle environment that had not been explored enough for them to be running through it carelessly.

"Whoa, O'Neil, where are we going?" he called. But there was no reply as she kept her strides lengthy and strong.

Finally, just about as Raphael was about to voice concern, April stopped suddenly.

"April what the-" the turtle was cut off mid-sentence when the red head turned to meet his gaze. Suddenly everything was in slow motion. Her auburn waves, still damp from the swim, bounced in a way that reflected her personality as the lapis in her eyes blinked expectantly. The pale moonlight shaded and contoured her body and face in a way Raphael had only seen in magazines. He could hardly see the past hours of exhaustion that had taken a toll on her, in fact, she seemed to be glowing now more than ever. It was all he could do to keep his hands away from her radiating figure.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," he answered, subconsciously.

"I know, right? I found this a couple hours ago when you guys thought I was sleeping. If you lay like this, you and see the moon and stars perfectly through the canopy."

As April lay upon the jungle floor, Raphael shifted his gaze upwards and stifled a gasp at the intended visual pleasure. Sure he had seen the moon before in New York, but not like _this_. The white orb was so swollen and full, the turtle swore it was going to drop out of the sky. He proceeded to lay down next to the red head and take in the sheer wonder of it all. Never would he have thought that, after today's events, the night could end so peacefully and perfectly.

* * *

 **So there you go! This chapter has actually been in progress since I finished the last one, so I'm glad I was able to finish it. I can't guarantee that updates are going to come frequently from here on out, but I'm definitely going to make more of an attempt. Once again, I just want to thank all of the kind and lovely reviewers. It means a lot to me!**

 **Review/favorite/follow!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry about the delay! Enjoy!**

 **Also, the end of this chapter gets very Anti-Apriltello. You've been warned.**

* * *

In the midst of this time of frenzy and panic, Casey didn't think he'd feel so bored without the turtles or April. He had plenty to do, Master Splinter had made sure of that, but every action felt empty without taunts from Raphael or Donnie's eyerolls. They needed to be found, or Casey was going to go insane.

Master Splinter had put him to work with the upkeep of the dojo, which wasn't difficult given that the four main inhabitants were missing. Time was spent picking up garbage and looking for any clues as to what had happened. While Casey played the maid, Splinter poured through ancient texts, looking for anything related to a demon that possessed and kidnapped people. It had only been a couple days, but the stress was beginning to get to the old rat. Never before had he been at a loss such as this.

As Casey began to put away the cleaning supplies after a long day of work, he caught a glimpse of how the guys' disappearance was really taking a toll of the rat. The door to the dojo was cracked only slightly, but Casey could see it all. Splinter stood in front of a picture frame he knew too well. Raph had mentioned the significance of the old family photo to the masked vigilante in passing, but Casey had never seen his sensei this sentimental before. Then, with one slow movement, the rat placed another photo next to the one of his family, and Casey didn't have to squint to know what it was a photo of; it was becoming a shrine of the lost.

"Master Splinter?" Casey asked. The rat turned toward the dojo door slowly, knowing full well that the teenager had been watching him.

"Yes, Casey?"

"I'm finished cleaning."

Splinter nodded, "yes, thank you for the help."

The hockey-player shrugged. "No problem."

The rat noticed that the boy made no movement towards leaving. He sighed, "I haven't figured out a way to get them back."

"That's okay, Master Splinter," Casey's shoulders sagged. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

But just as he made a motion to leave, billowing black smoke began to fill the dojo. He threw a terrified look to Master Splinter, who was by his side in seconds, preparing for the worst. Within minutes the dojo was transformed into a chilling ebony cloud.

"Yoshiro!" called Splinter. "Yoshiro, where are my sons?"

"And April!" Casey added.

A soft chuckle built from amidst the fog. Casey attempted to take a swing at the laugh with his hockey stick, but ended up being met with more taunting.

"Yoshiro, I know it is you!" yelled Splinter again, with more fury. "Where have you taken them?"

The chuckling ceased, and the cloud in front of them began to clump and take shape. Each puff stacked until the towering emerald frame of Yoshiro floated before them, black eyes peering holes into Casey's.

"Hamato Yoshi, so _mice_ to see you again," the spirit flashed a row of narrow, crooked teeth.

"Hey! Master Splinter's' a rat, not a mouse!" Casey yelled.

The black caverns rolled. "Whatever."

"Where are they?" Splinter growled.

"Those four lizards and the girl?" Yoshiro asked, bored. "Oh I haven't done anything to them, _yet_."

"You lay a hand on any of them and I'll-!"

"-You'll what, Yoshi?" The spirit raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I have the advantage here. I'm a ghost. Your fighting skills won't work on me."

The rat was silenced.

"What do you want?" Casey snarled.

"I want the rat," the spirit stated. "It never really was about those kids, you know, but you had to drag them into this, Yoshi."

"Show me my sons, Yoshiro!"

For a slit second, the ghost seemed to be at a loss. But he quickly recovered saying. "First you come, then you can see your sons."

The rat's head lowered and Casey was struck with disbelief. "What did you do to him Master Splinter?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "But this may be the only way to get them back." The rat straightened and leveled the spirit's intimidation level. "I will go with you Yoshiro."

"Really?" the ghost asked in awe, but then quickly regained his composure. "Yes, of course."

"But you must return my sons and April!" Splinter said firmly.

"Yes, yes good," Yoshiro said eagerly. He raised his fingers and the smoke began to swirl around them.

Casey grabbed Master Splinter's arm, "you can't do this!"

"Casey, I can handle this!" The rat tried to distance himself at the smoke began to pick up and engulf the two.

"No! He's too powerful." Casey choked, still holding firm.

"Let go!"

And suddenly the smoke was gone, as were the rat and the boy.

* * *

April awoke to a very large rock jammed into the small of her back.

She arched it, attempting to rid her body of the unpleasant sting, and rolled over onto her side. Her head rested on Raphael's warm plastron, and her arm absent-mindedly followed. Was it already morning? It seemed like mere minutes ago she had brought him out here for a little distraction from the stress of the day, it wasn't fair to be waking up after so little time to sleep.

But the caw of tropical birds cemented that it was indeed time to start the day.

The red-head lifted herself into a seated position, surveying the surrounding. The sun was just beginning to rise and peak through the trees, and it was now that April was able to see the full extent of the island's beauty. Flowers felt more colorful, the sun warmer, and even the annoying chirp of the birds seemed musical in comparison to the New York Pigeons.

"It'd be even more beautiful if we weren't trapped here," April mumbled.

She rose to her feet, noting the even snores from the red-banded turtle. April considered waking him up, but she was reminded of the dangerous implications if she and Raph walked back to camp together after being gone all night. Mikey would be sad he was left out, Leo would be quietly curious, but Donnie would immediately assume the worst. So leaving Raphael to find his own way back seemed to be the safest option.

As she arrived at camp, Donatello was already attending to the fire and April thanked her forward thinking.

"G'morning Donnie," slurred April, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

The purple turtle's expression brightened as April took a seat on a log. "Oh hey April! How long have you been up? I didn't see you in the tent this morning."

The red-head's stomach clenched.

"I figured you went out to collect firewood or something," Donnie continued innocently.

"Oh yeah! I did!" April exhaled out of relief. "I went to get firewood!"

"Awesome, so where is it?" he asked expectantly.

 _Crap_. "I...uh...couldn't find any good sticks," she fumbled.

"Really? No good sticks in this jungle?"

"Nope!"

Leo broke the uncomfortable string of dialogue as he entered the campsite. "Have either of you guys seen Raph?"

"He probably went to go punch a tree or something," Donnie dismissed.

April couldn't help but feel a little uneasy by Donnie's disinterest in his brother. He was usually very calculated and organized, so dismissing Raphael like that meant he definitely was worrying about him.

Mikey followed behind Leo, looking more like a zombie than April felt, "yo dudes what for breakfast? I'm starving!"

"We're going to have to scavenge," decided Leo. "April, why don't we go find Raph and look for some berries or something?"

The red-head could see Donatello flinch ever so slightly out of the corner of her eye. "Uh, sure Leo!"

"Bro! Can I go too?" Mikey asked.

"No, Mikey," asserted the leader. "Stay with Donnie and make sure nothing bad happens to camp. We still don't know anything about this island or its wildlife."

"Please Leo!" the youngest turtle begged. "I don't think I'll be able to wait for you guys to get back."

As Leo was about to protest, Donnie lifted his hand. "It's fine! Let Mikey go, I can hold down the fort!"

April and Leo looked to each other. "You sure, D?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I mean, this fire shouldn't be too much of a problem," Donnie said, a little too easily. "Plus, I don't want Mikey poking me every five seconds asking for a snack."

They nodded, and set off into the wilderness. April breathed a sigh of relief. Spending some time with Mikey and Leo would be good. They seemed so easy going and serene, and maybe that was because she wasn't caught in an intricate love triangle with either of them. Their presence was calming, as Mikey began to make up an adventuring song right off the bat.

He wasn't even about to conduct a second verse when they ran into a very groggy Raph.

"Raph? What are you doing out here?" Leo demanded.

Raph's eyes widened, as his gaze set of April, who promptly turned a shade as deep as his mask.

"I was...uh...gathering firewood," he stumbled. April hoped he wouldn't use that excuse on Donnie.

"Okay, well next time you decide to run off, let someone know," Leo scolded. "Just for that, you get to help us look for food."

Raphael nodded, obviously too tired to put up a fight, and fell into step at the back of the pack next to Mikey. From behind her, April could hear Mikey questioning further.

"What happened, bro? You look like crap?"

"Shut up, Mikey."

"Is that a twig in your shell?"

"What? No!"

"You must've really been going hard finding firewood."

Raphael groaned. April stifled a laugh.

* * *

As the morning progressed, the quartet was able to assemble a wide variety of berries and leaves to bring back for Donnie to identify. The whole length of the excursion, Raph didn't say a word to April. It was embarrassing enough to wake up on a grassy jungle bed, questioning your decisions from the night before, but the fact that April had just left him there without another word? Raph couldn't help but feel a little offended.

So when he found Leo, Mikey, and her walking down the trail, he wanted to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Thankful Leo didn't press and Mikey was too hungry to notice anything, but the wide-eyed look April gave made it obvious she hadn't told anyone about last night. Not that he would care if she did, they didn't do anything. But the fact that she didn't tell made him wonder if she was processing things the same way he was. The last couple days had been a whirlwind, and Raphael had never felt so much raw emotion in his life.

When the crew got back to the campsite, Donatello was poking the roaring fire, looking more bored than he would probably ever let on.

"Hey D!" Mikey exclaimed. "Did any wild animals attack while we were gone?"

Donnie sighed and laughed. "'Fraid not, Mikey. Did you guys find anything?"

As Leo handed the purple turtle the berries and leaves that were found, Mikey and April retreated into the shelter, leaving Raph to take a seat on the log opposite his brother. He could tell Donatello had been giving him the side eye ever since they'd arrived, and it would only be a matter of time before he started asking questions.

"Where'd you head off to this morning, Raph?" The first question was innocent enough.

His throat clenched. "I was collecting firewood."

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Raph nodded feverishly.

"That's the exact same thing April said."

 _Crap_ "Really? That's funny I didn't even see her."

"Cut the crap Raphael I know what's going on." The tone wasn't furious, more like Donatello was offended his brother would think he was so stupid. This eyes didn't even stray from the berries he was sorting. "You like her, don't you?"

Raph didn't say anything. There was no way to describe how he felt in one mere phrase, and even if he could, he sure as hell wasn't saying it out loud.

"I don't think that's our most pressing issue right now, Donnie." It was then that Raphael knew he should've just picked himself off the log and gone back to the shelter to wait out his brother's obvious mood. And maybe he actually would have, if the red-banded turtle wasn't so stubborn.

"What is the most pressing issue than? Getting off the island? Defeating Yoshiro? Both of those seem pretty impossible at the moment." Donnie scoffed. "Or maybe you just don't understand how much April means to me."

"You know that's not true." Raph pressed his hands together, preparing for the oncoming storm.

"Then why did you do it?" Donatello's eyes were pulled from the berries to look into Raph's vulnerable emerald ones. His words were soft and rolled over the mind like a rising tide as opposed to a Tempest, so quiet it seemed like a question he didn't even want answered. Raphael never wanted to see his brother this way. Ever since their first journey into the streets of New York, he knew to respect his brother's feelings towards their friend. Sure there were times the red turtle found himself lost in conversation with the red head and wishing it would never end, and of course his stomach would flip every time she arrived at the layer. But April was Donnie's as far as he was concerned, so he just learned to live with it, and enjoy the small moments he got to be with her.

"We didn't even do anything," were the only words Raph could find.

Donnie shook his head. "You didn't have to."

* * *

 **Man this chapter was a long time coming. I just want to thank all of the reviewers for encouraging me, I really love your feedback!**

 **This is a pretty busy time for me, so updates probably won't be coming quickly, but your reviews certainly motivate me, so keep it up!**

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